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Wednesday, October 31, 2012

As more stones and other materials need to be purchased, the Mo'ili'ili Japanese Cemetery Beautification Project has partnered with Serenergy Productions to offer a special screening of Serenergy's film "Parts of the Same Circle", a wonderful independent film recently shown at the Hawaii International Film Festival to rave reviews.

Filmed entirely on Oahu with an amazing cast of local talent, the story is based on the idea that we all must one day face the reality of death no matter who we are. Eleven separate storylines follow various people as they cope with death and find that it is not foreign, evil, or something that is "apmi" from life, but rather an integral ‘part of' the circle of life. The stories overlap illustrating how interconnected we all are and how powerfully our lives connect with and influence others. "Parts of the Same Circle" is a film that will move you to laughter as well as tears and will surely touch your heart as it tells a story of redemption, reconciliation, and hope.

WHAT: Film screening of HIFF selection, "Parts of the Same Circle"WHEN:Sunday, November 11th,2:00pm

WHERE:University of Hawai‘i Art Auditorium

RSVP required (see below)

The movie will be followed by a visit with the film-makers and refreshments.

Directions:Take Dole Street and enter on East-West Road. Turn left on Correa Road just before Kennedy Theater), park in the lot at the end of the road. The Art Building will be on the right. Parking on campus is free. Please plan to arrive early as the program will begin promptly at 2 o'clock.

To order tickets, please make your reservations byphone or email and ask for an order form. Act quickly as seats are limited.We must receive your request by November 8.

ARecap of the Beautification Project:The beautification project is a dream that began when Laura Ruby, long time Mo'ili'ili resident and an Art and Honors instructor at the University of Hawaii met Harriet Natsuyama while collecting research on the history of Mo'ili'ili for a book. Harriet, an astrophysicist who grew up in Mo'ili'ili and currently resides in Los Angeles, was cataloging the work of her grandfather who carved many of the headstones at the cemetery. For years the two women dreamed of improving the Kuilei-Waiaka Road border of the cemetery. Their vision was to take down the high fence with its worn aluminum strips and to remove the trash that was accumulating as some would use this as a dumping ground. Their wish was to create a beautiful, tranquil setting that was inviting to those who visit the cemetery and to enhance the environment for the residents and visitors to Mo'ili'ili. They would like to see this 100+ year old cemetery added to our state's list of historical sites and also to the National Register of Historic Places.

Receiving a $1000 grant from the Awesome Foundation allowed Laura and Harriet to start their ambitious project. With the help of numerous volunteers which include individuals who have loved ones in the cemetery, those who work, attend school or live in the community, as well as visitors who just wanted to help, who reside outside of the community (on the neighbor islands and as far away as Texas), the work began.

The fence has been removed and construction has begun on a low rise bluestone wall. There are plans for a garden, new trees for shade and areas to sit.

For information on the Mo'ili'ili Japanese Cemetery Beautification Project please go to www.moiliili.net

Participate in a group hike to Manoa Falls led by Aaron Lowe, Oahu Trails & Access Specialist, followed by a discussion of the impact of the tourism industry on Hawaii's natural resources. Learn about the delicate balance between people and nature, and hear the results of the most recent public survey about Manoa Falls Trail.

This trail is one of Oahu’s most popular hiking locations and sees over 100,000 hikers each year. Thanks to grants through Hawaii Tourism Authority and partnerships with commercial ecotourism operators, improvements to the trail (including a new front entry way, gate, and rock pillars, an interpretive kiosk, interpretive signs, a viewing area at the falls and pool, and trail widening and armoring) will help to ensure that the trail remains beautiful and intact.

See more on HEA's Facebook page!

The Hawaii Ecotourism Association Board of Directors has developed several “get to know the HEA membership” type events. If you would like to have your ecotourism business featured at one of these events, you could host HEA members and guests at an event at your facility. This form of networking will work to everyone’s advantage. Contact Paul Dyson at pauld@ussmissouri.org. Plans are in the works to have similar events on Kauai, Maui and Hawaii island.

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Professor of Anthropology and Integrative Biology University of California-Berkeley

4:00 pm on Friday (October 26)

345 Saunders Hall

Professor Kirch’s talk will outline the goals and initial results of a multidisciplinary collaboration focused on island ecosystems and cultural responses to ecosystem change which led to radically transformed landscapes and emergent sociopolitical formations in Polynesia.

The three island case studies provide critical contrasts in island geology and age, geomorphology, size, and climate and marine resources; vary significantly in the degree of socio-political hierarchy and integration; and have existing archaeological and paleoecological data from which we can build.

Our goal is to understand interactions among anthropogenic landscape change, and shifts in settlement patterns, agricultural infrastructure, production, and ideological control, both how these variables influenced emerging social complexity, and how they affected long term adaptive cycles in island socioecosystems.”

Professor Kirch is Class of 1954 Professor of Anthropology and Integrative Biology at the University of California-Berkeley. He has conducted archaeological research in the Pacific Islands, including Hawai‘i, for more than 40 years and he has published more than 230 books, monographs, and journal articles. Dr. Kirch is a fellow of the US National Academy of Sciences and he has received numerous awards including (but not limited to) the Herbert E. Gregory Medal for Distinguished Service to Science in the Pacific, the J.I. Staley Prizeof the School of American Research (with Marshall D. Sahlins), and the John J. Carty Award for the Advancement of Science.

Monday, October 22, 2012

The status of the Kapaia Swinging Bridge is on the Kaua‘i County Council agenda on October 24.

Before March storm:

The County Engineer is scheduled to brief the council members on the damage to bridge, the status of the repairs, and any conditions by the State Historic Preservation Division.

The Kapaia Foundation is working to save the bridge, and invites preservationists to join them at the Council meeting. It is 9 a.m. on October 24 at the historic Kaua‘i County Building in Līhu‘e.

Storm-caused flood further damages bridge in March:

Some History...

The pedestrian suspension bridge was built in 1948 across Kapaia Stream to connect residents of the sugar mill residential camps. It is significant for association with Kaua‘i’s multi-ethnic heritage, plantation era history, and engineering. It is designated on the State Register of Historic Places, and was placed on HHF’s Most Endangered Historic Places list due to years of neglect and safety issues. It was further damaged in a storm-caused flood in March.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Kilauea Lighthouse Restoration Efforts gets Hampton Help

By Dennis Fujimoto, The Garden Island

October 4, 2012: The Kilauea Lighthouse restoration got a big boost from the Hampton Hotels, through its Save-A-Landmark program Saturday.

Hampton Hotels donated $25,000 toward the restoration of the Kilauea Lighthouse in honor of National Public Lands Day, which was celebrated Saturday, states a release from the Kilauea Point Natural History Association.

“We are thrilled to be able to help aid the preservation of the Kilauea Lighthouse as it prepares for its centennial celebration in 2013,” said Judy Christa-Cathey, vice president of global brand marketing, Hampton Hotels. “This donation to one of Hawai‘i’s most iconic landmarks signifies the realization of our goal to help at least one landmark in each state. This is a momentous milestone in our brand’s history — one we’ve worked toward for nearly 12 years.”

The presentation was made to the KPNHA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service during the Kilauea Lighthouse local celebration of National Public Lands Day.

The Kilauea Lighthouse is one of the most visited attractions in Hawai‘i with more than 500,000 visitors each year. The iconic landmark was selected as a Hampton Hotels landmark during a public voting campaign hosted by the company and attracted more than 60,000 votes from communities around the world.

The Kilauea Lighthouse started lighting the way for mariners in 1913, states its website. It served as a pivotal navigational aid for ships sailing on the Orient run.

The historic light station consists of a concrete lighthouse, three field stone keepers’ quarters, a fuel oil shed, cisterns and a supply landing platform and is one of the nation’s most intact historic light stations.

After the light was decommissioned in 1976, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acquired it in 1985 and currently manages the 31-acre site as part of a 203-acre wildlife refuge. Kilauea Point is listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

Entitled “Beacon for the Generations to Come, Ka Lama Kuhikuhi No Na Hanauna,” the KPNHA is conducting the capital campaign to restore the lighthouse, the first phase of the restoration work being completed in November 2008 when the anchor bolts securing the lantern room to the concrete tower were repaired and replaced.

The next major phase of work involves repairing the unique cast iron roof and lantern assembly and stabilizing the lens. The work is taking place now and will be followed by the final phase, which will entail repairs to the concrete tower, opening the closed vents and window openings, installing new windows and removing the inappropriate exterior coating to return the tower to its original appearance.

To date, Hampton Hotels has preserved 60 historic sites in 50 states and three countries and has donated more than $2.5 million and more than 8,000 volunteer hours toward the research and refurbishment of roadside landmarks.

“The Save-A-Landmark program has been an important part of the Hampton culture for many years and has enabled thousands of our team members to give back to their local communities, but we’ve truly only just begun,” Christa-Cathey said. “We look forward to expanding our community relations program and aiding even more communities worldwide through a new volunteerism program called ‘Hampton Helps.’ Just as we are committed to delighting our guests, we want to bring our positive, friendly service culture — what we call Hamptonality — to community service to help improve and uplift our communities.”

Visitwww.hampton.com/helpsfor more information about the Hampton Helps program. Visit www.kilauealighthouse.orgfor more information, or to contribute to the restoration efforts at the Kilauea Lighthouse.______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Monday, October 15, 2012

Enjoy Lahaina Restoration Foundation's annual Lahaina Plantation Days Event this week on October 18, 19 & 20. There may still be time to help out as a volunteer.

As a volunteer you'll receive a FREE official event t-shirt (for the first shift worked) and $10 in scrips for each additional shift. Volunteer stations range from scrip sales, keiki game booths, admissions, scrip counters and security.

If interested in participating as a volunteer click on the "Become A Volunteer" link below or contact Susie Arcangel (Volunteer Coordinator) at (808) 281-1923 or click here to email.

To find out more information on the upcoming Lahaina Plantation Days event, click on the "Event Homepage" link below.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

The North Shore Chamber of Commerce's Historic Preservation Committee will present an illustrated talk about Ted Vierra, architect of Lili'uokalani Protestant Church, by Fran Dieudonne based on her book A Biography of Theodore A. Vierra, AIA. The talk, hosted by Lili'uokalani Protestant Church, will be followed by a tour of the church including the famous clock given to the church by Queen Lili'uokalani. The evening will conclude with a book signing by Ms. Dieudonne.

The event is free with a suggested donation of $5.

Theodore Alameda Vierra was born on the Big Island in 1902 when trains ran on trestle tracks high in the air along the Hamakua coast and where his Azorean born Portuguese father and Hawaiian-Scottish mother

raised their nine children. He graduated from Kamehameha Schools as president of his class in 1919, graduated from college in San Francisco and later won a scholarship to Harvard University School of Architecture. Vierra was the first native Hawaiian to be admitted to the American Institute of Architecture. He returned to Hawaii in 1935 to work for the Hawaii Sugar Planters Association, later establishing his own firm.

WHAT:"Always Remember - You Are Hawaiian" an illustrated talk by Fran Dieudonne

Please join us for a memorable evening celebrating this remarkable man and learning about his fascinating story.

About the North Shore Chamber of Commerce (NSCOC)
Haleiwa Main Street, DBA the North Shore Chamber of Commerce, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, was founded in 1985 to encourage economic development through historic preservation. Today, the Chamber exists to promote, maintain, and encourage the historic, cultural, civic, and economic welfare of the North Shore district through research, education, advocacy, and other related activities.

To learn more about the Chamber, please visit www.gonorthshore.org.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Honolulu Town is a joint effort by Laura Ruby and Ross W. Stephenson to document social, rather than economic or political, histories within Honolulu. Both authors have lived here most of their lives and wished to record people's personal experiences that help to identify our neighborhoods. Subjects include the evolution of the waterfront; development of churches and other community assistance organizations; evolution of the school systems; and the challenges that faced us in our efforts to improve our quality of life. The book's format uses photographs from public and private

organizations and individuals, coupled with background descriptions, to document scenes and institutions within the area bounded roughly by the harbor, Pālama, the Ko‘olau Mountains, and Thomas Square.

Laura Ruby is the editor of Mō‘ili‘ili–The Life of a Community, the 2008 recipient of the Hawai‘i Individual Artist Fellowship, and the creator of Site of Passage–Chinatown, a large commissioned site-specific sculpture. She has taught art at the University of Hawai‘i since 1977.

Ross W. Stephenson is the historian at the Hawai‘i State Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, and he is the keeper of the Hawai‘i Register of Historic Places. He holds both a doctorate and master’s degree in urban planning, focusing on the developmental history of Honolulu.

Buffeted by opposition, Navy blinks on solar site

October 1, 2012: In the face of opposition from historic preservation groups, the Navy has eased off plans to install photovoltaic panels on the historic Ford Island runway in Pearl Harbor.

In an email Thursday to the Historic Hawai‘i Foundation, the service said it would consider alternate sites for the solar array, and that it was suspending consultation with the historic parties for the time being on its Ford Island plan.

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Ford Island Taxiways

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"I think they are being responsive to the input they've been given," said Kier­sten Faulkner, executive director of the foundation. "So from Historic Hawai‘i Foundation, from the National Trust (for Historic Preservation), from the Pacific Aviation Museum and from the National Park Service — all these consulting parties have said, ‘We believe the Navy needs to look more closely at alternates rather than putting it on the Ford Island runway.'"

Kenneth DeHoff, executive director of Pacific Aviation Museum Pearl Harbor, said the Navy previously objected to other locations for the array.

"Their objection has been there's no place else to put this, and we suggested they put it on the West Loch (naval magazine) area," he said. "They came back and said that was inside the ammunition blast zone. So we took their calculation and plotted it out on the map and showed them there was almost 1,000 acres outside of that blast arc that they could put the panels on."

Navy Region Hawaii said Friday in an email to the Star-Advertiser that the Ford Island runway is one of several locations now being considered on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam for the photovoltaic array. Others include West Loch and Wai­pio Peninsula.

"The Navy is studying cost-effective and environmentally sound locations," the command said. "We are committed to balancing our responsibility toward energy security, environmental stewardship, and the preservation of historically significant facilities and structures."

With Battleship Row along its eastern shore, Ford Island was the epicenter of the Japa­nese attack on Dec. 7, 1941. The island's Luke Field, established by the Army in 1919, was one of the first military airfields, according to the Pacific Aviation Museum.

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Historic Tower

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It is also where Amelia Earhart crashed on her first attempt to fly around the world in 1937.

"The island is certainly very much the soul of aviation in Hawaii," DeHoff said.

Since at least 2009 the Navy has been seeking to install photovoltaic panels across a large swath of the weedy asphalt that is the former Luke Field as it strives to be less dependent on foreign oil.

The Navy previously offered the adjacent Pacific Aviation Museum, which has a 65-year lease, $250,000 toward renovation of the elevator on the historic control tower, which the museum also oversees, to sign off on the 11-megawatt solar plan, said DeHoff.

Complete Tower

The museum said no.

Seeking to bring national attention to its cause, the museum launched a petition and signature drive at change.org.

As of Friday there were 1,148 supporters.

Information on the website said 8,852 more were needed to reach a goal of 10,000 signatures.

"Or 100,000, if that's what it takes," DeHoff said.

The drive has attracted some high-profile supporters.

"To whom it may concern," begins the Sept. 4 letter from retired Gen. Merrill McPeak, former Air Force chief of staff. "I understand the Navy intends to install photovoltaic panels over the historic Ford Island runway. Frankly, this decision baffles me. Ford Island and its runway are part of the historic memory of the United States."

McPeak, former commander in chief of Hawaii-based Pacific Air Forces, added that the desire "to deface what should be a national monument is a mystery. Surely there is much other real estate at which sunlight can be gathered in the state of Hawaii."

The Historic Hawai‘i Foundation said that when the Navy first talked about photovoltaics, it was proposed as a way to define the runway with flat panels.

The Navy then switched from amorphous panels that are durable to crystalline panels with a 3-degree tilt, the National Park Service said. The panels would be placed 18 inches above the ground and cover 1.2 million square feet of the 300-by-4,000-foot runway.

The array, designed to generate 11 megawatts — more than twice the output of the original design — would be surrounded by a 7-foot-high fence and include 7-foot-tall power inverters on concrete pads, the park service said.

"The project the Navy is currently proposing is not the balanced preservation and renewable energy project that consulting parties were presented with in 2009," David Louter, chief of the cultural resources program for the park service's Pacific West Region, said Wednesday in a letter to the Navy.

"It's kind of hard to point out where Amelia Earhart ground-looped her airplane when you are looking at the runway and you've got to look through a (7-foot fence)," DeHoff said.

The Navy has since 1999 pursued aggressive redevelopment on Ford Island, whose hangar windows still are pocked with bullet holes from the 1941 attack.

A total of 231 new homes, a new Navy lodge, a 30-acre National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration campus and other additions have come to Ford Island, but preservationists have always drawn the line when it came to the airfield.